MapMachine

This MapMachine resource from National Geographic provides maps of basically any location on earth. You can choose from four different categories of maps: Road Map, Satellite, Physical, and More Theme Maps, which includes maps on Weather, Natural Disasters, Farming & Natural Resources, Nature & Conservation, Population Density, U.S. Boundaries, and Trip Planning.

To navigate the MapMachine, students can either enter an address (it seems to work best for locations in the United States) and click “Find a Place” or they can click on a location on the world map. When they click on any area of a map, the map will center and zoom to the next level. Once on a map, students also can move by clicking on one of eight directions (N, E, S, W, NE, NW, SE, SW) and can zoom by clicking on the zoom bar. The zoom takes you from a world perspective all the way to the street level.

The maps can be used in limitless ways. For example, students could view a satellite image of their hometown, compare population densities between countries, investigate environmental threats, or take a virtual field trip to an exotic location.